Echoes Of The Past February 22, 2018
I can hear it now – “No School All Schools All Day” in the following towns in the Boston area……….. That was the announcement on the radio at 7:30 a.m. if there had been a heavy snow fall or an ongoing blizzard. That was in the 1940’s. And it seems to be the same 80 years on. Here in Seattle I heard it this morning. We had about 2 inches of snow last night. It’s beautiful! No longer does it mean no school for me – it’s for my grandchildren.
beautiful but this small amount of snow creates havoc on Seattle’s hilly streets
getting the last of the sun’s rays this morningLate Entry – Colours of August in Seattle and Dublin October 31, 2014
N.B. the following post was written originally in September 2010
I’m late in compiling my Colours of August for Sue’s annual calendar. This is a most interesting series of monthly colours in various parts of the world. For other entries see Sue at Life Looms Large.
I spent the first 2 weeks of August in Seattle (latest grandchild baby Sean was born August 1) and then I flew back to Dublin for the final packing up. WE returned to Seattle August 28. So I’ll select a few pictures from these 2 locations 6,000 miles apart.
Baby Sean Ian, a few hours old, held by his grandma, considerably older
an iconic sight in Seattle – such an environmentally friendly city with its big employer Amazon
a few of my plants along the path to our front door, note the mums – a sign of the season
the apples are getting riper
Now we cross the miles to Dublin
photo taken from the upper floor of Marks and Spencers in Dublin, looking down on Davy Byrnes pub, a famous landmark on Duke Street in Dublin
selection of yarn for Fall knitting – This is Knit Shop, Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin
Fresh air market near Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin – note, it’s raining
loading up the removal van with our final boxes
goodby Slinki, our wonderful cat, oblivious to our impending departure. That was sad!
Late Entry – Colours of August in Seattle and Dublin September 3, 2010
I’m late in compiling my Colours of August for Sue’s annual calendar. This is a most interesting series of monthly colours in various parts of the world. For other entries see Sue at Life Looms Large.
I spent the first 2 weeks of August in Seattle (latest grandchild baby Sean was born August 1) and then I flew back to Dublin for the final packing up. WE returned to Seattle August 28. So I’ll select a few pictures from these 2 locations 6,000 miles apart.
Baby Sean Ian, a few hours old, held by his grandma, considerably older
an iconic sight in Seattle – such an environmentally friendly city with its big employer Amazon
a few of my plants along the path to our front door, note the mums – a sign of the season
the apples are getting riper
Now we cross the miles to Dublin
photo taken from the upper floor of Marks and Spencers in Dublin, looking down on Davy Byrnes pub, a famous landmark on Duke Street in Dublin
selection of yarn for Fall knitting – This is Knit Shop, Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin
Fresh air market near Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin – note, it’s raining
loading up the removal van with our final boxes
goodby Slinki, our wonderful cat, oblivious to our impending departure. That was sad!
July Colours from East to West July 20, 2010
I was on the East Coast a couple of weeks ago, visiting in Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut. One of the highlights of the trip was my sister’s purchase of a mood ring. This was in a gift shop in Perkins Cove in Ogunquit. Well, this mood ring gave us many laughs. The most prominent and frequent colour was blue – which meant that she was happy. So blue has to be one of my colours for this month. When I arrived in Seattle, one of the things that struck me was the BLUE hydrangeas – they are everywhere. Now I am well used to red and pink hydrangeas in Dublin, but we seldom have blue. The picture to the right is one of my favourite bright blue houses on my street here. If you look closely you can see the Old English Sheepdog who lies on the sofa looking out the picture window. I always wave as I walk past and then he doesn’t bark at me.
and a nice bright blue sky license plate – this is South Dakota
Mr. (or Mrs.) Robin on the roof of the Caprice Kitchen cafe – outlined against the blue sky – this was taken near our house – mornings have tended to be overcast and then we have been having clear blue skies in the afternoons.
blue verging on purple
just to show that we have pink in Seattle, in fact we have many many colours as this time of year
Colours of February February 27, 2010
February is zipping by – it’s time to put up my colours before the month is gone completely. And it’s an excuse to put up more photos of February in this part of the world – Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. February 2010 has been a very mild month here, possibly the mildest February on record. The birds and bees and trees are a bit confused as are the humans – but we have been enjoying our weather and marvelling at it. The predominant colour now as we near the end of the month is PINK. The cherry trees are glorious and we also have colour in our skies.
the forsythia are reflecting the good weather
I think this is a chenomeles (sp.?) 
and this was a magical moment when the Fairy Tale Mt. Rainier was illuminated in a pink evening glow
and this was the moon at 2 a.m. on Thursday Feb. 25
my new project, a crocheted blanket – started near the end of February – the colour looks grey here but it is closer to pale lavender
and this is a painting with many grey tones. I found it today in my unpacking. The artist is Peggy Lewin who was the wife of the Burmese Ambassador to Bangladesh in the early 1980’s. We purchased the painting at an exhibition featuring paintings by Peggy Lewin; ceramics by Carol Kabir, a potter; and woven rugs by myself, a weaver.
The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef October 22, 2009
The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, according to an article in today’s Irish Times (Oct. 23, 2009) is a “woolly representation of the threatened ecosystems that models coral-like shapes using mathematical algorithms and crochet……..” On this coming Saturday, at the Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin, there will be a workshop to teach the hyperbolic crochet technique and kickstart an “Irish” reef. Pity for me – it’s all booked out. This project brings together geometry, marine biology, global warming, and crochet.
Wonders in wool – Coral Crochet – Anemone with brain coral head by Margaret Wertheim
Nothing on the needles December 16, 2008
I have nothing on the needles at the moment. No knitting – just reading. It’s such a pleasure to get immersed in a good book and be able to read it uninterrupted. The book for non-stop reading this afternoon was Body Surfing by Anita Shreve. I missed this book when it came out last year so I was delighted to recently discover its existence. I am a great fan of Anita Shreve’s books. Given my participation in the Book Fairs it’s a bit ironic that I hadn’t found it 2nd hand. I was so eager to read it I succumbed to buying it new. Not good for my carbon footprint if you believe the information put out by one of my favourite 2nd hand book stores, Epilogue Books in Seattle Washington U.S.A.
The following is what Epilogue Books has to say about carbon footprints and books.
Americans buy about 3 billion books each year, grinding up to 20 million trees.
Only about 5% of the paper used in producing books comes from recycled sources
As well as saving trees by reusing books, we reduce the pollution produced by production and delivery
The production of one average book generates more than 100 lbs of solid waste and 2.5 lbs. of carbon dioxide
Libraries estimate that a hardback book can be read as many as 100 times and a paperback book at least 10 to 20 times
We can all reduce our carbon footprint by shopping locally and buying reused items whenever possible.
Final bit of miscellaneous information, as published in the Irish Times: Sun rise 8:35/ Sun set 4:06. We’re getting ever closer to the Winter Solstice!
Bitter cold March 23, 2008
Following the surgery on my toes last week I haven’t been able to wander very far. This has left plenty of time for reading and knitting – I don’t mind that!
A little while ago, the sockladyspins who lives in the far north of British Columbia had a blog entry about knitting and felting. I admired her beautiful knitting and commented that I would find it hard to felt the items as I thought they looked lovely the way they were. But she pointed out that in that bitter cold of the far North where temperatures hit 40 below and cattle have to be fed regardless, a felted hat and mittens would be so much more useful – and she had knit her items extra large on purpose having felting in mind. The felted results were beautiful too but of course stitch definition gets lost in the process. Needs must. What I’m getting round to saying is that this exchange of comments prompted me to read a book which I have had on my unreads shelf for about 6 months. I have read a lot about the development of the American West but know very little about what happened in Canada.
here was my answer – The Pioneer Years 1895-1914, Memories of Settlers Who Opened Up the West, by Barry Broadfoot. This a Canadian publication, first published in 1976. And it is a wonderful collection of memoirs about the western part of Canada. In almost every memoir in this 400 page book the extremes of climate are mentioned – this really emphasized to me the need for warm clothing in that bitter bitter cold of their long winters.
Knitting and reading this book – that’s what I’ve been doing while resting the sore toes. I obtained the Canadian publication at the Dublin City Book Fair last November. I am participating in the March Dublin City Book Fair tomorrow – I hope I can find another Barry Broadfoot book. (And I’m also hoping I sell enough of my own books to justify purchases of all the other treasures I might find – the anticipation is half the fun.)
I’ll take my knitting of course while watching potential customers peruse my books. This is a good opportunity for knitting my yarn remnants into those squares, eventually leading to another blanket.
Janet's thread 
